Intertwined
by Bloody Nikki
Summary: Tony likes to think that Pepper is his personal Cheerlead and will always be by his side but that may not be true. Slight Pepper/Tony Slight Pepper/Gene I'm not good at summaries was called 'little things between friends'
1. Chapter 1

_Note: I own nothing and want more Pepper/Gene. Can you picture the two having kids? Poor Tony! If you think of a better name tell me. I just thought it up on the spot._

Tony likes to know whats going on around him. He doesn't like surprises and he is filled with a need to always have answers. This need has all been a blessing and a curse. He likes to think that he knows just about everything about his friends. That he can almost guess what they are going to say and when they are going to say it. So, when Pepper comes to school one day talking to Gene like their best friends he is a little taken back at how close they seem. He isn't shocked that their friends but he is shocked at how fast their friendship grew.

Tony likes to think that Pepper will always be by his side and cheering him on. He kind of likes her as his personal cheerleader. He would die before telling her that. He kind likes how much she seems to care about him and how much she is willing to give up to help him. So, when one day she says green is her favorite color he wonders if that means he likes him less. He asks why she doesn't like red anymore and she just smiles. He feels better when she says, "it's not that I don't like red. It's just that now I like green better." He doesn't know why that answer makes him happy and yet slightly upset.

Tony hates all her phone calls and he tells her this...all the time. But she never stops with them unless she's mad at him. It's not that he doesn't like taking to her. He just needs space to think and to breathe. He talks to Gene about this once and Gene just smiles a little and says he understood. He goes on to say that he and Pepper set aside a time every week to talk if he can't talk to her every during the week. Tony is a little surprised by this but brushes it off. Later during the week, he hacks into Pepper's and Gene's phone records to see when would be a good time for 'his' weekly talk time to Pepper, he is taken back at how much the two talk and more so that the reason Pepper doesn't call Gene like crazy is because he is calling her half the time too. He wonders two things then. One when did Pepper have time to call him when it seemed she's always talking to Gene and two just how close were the two.

Tony knows for a fact that Pepper's favorite animal is a monkey. He buys her a monkey stuffed animal for her birthday and he thinks that she'll love it. When she opens it, her face falls a little and her mouth shapes into an 'O'. She smiles kindly and says thank you but Tony can tell that she hates it. Than Gene hands her a gift a few hours later, he rubs the back of his back and says that he got it at the last second. He tells her that he almost forgot her birthday. Pepper opens the small box with a slightly hurt face. She doesn't like the fact that he almost forgot her birthday. Tony watches as her eyes grew wide. She's so happy that she can't speak. Gene picks up the item in the box. It's a necklace with a tiger on it. The tiger had jade stones for eyes and Tony can tell just by the cost of the necklace that this gift wasn't a last second thought. Gene smiles at her as he asks if she likes it and tells her that he thought she'd like to have something with her favorite animal on it.

Tony notices that Pepper always wears that necklace even when it's not in view. Even after Gene betrays them. She mostly keeps it under her shirt after that. He notices that she fingers it during class when she's bored or when she's quiet. She often has this look on her face that Tony has never seen her give him. It's a look of pure peace. He wonders what she is thinking about and why she loves tigers so much.

Tony calls Gene a snake once when he's really made. Pepper tells him that she doesn't think of Gene as a snake but some other animal. When he asks what she thinks Gene is she just touches her necklace under her shirt and turns her head. Tony doesn't notice the way she touched her necklace. He just thinks she's in thought thinking of something better.

Tony goes to the carnival to relax when Rhodey forces out of his lab. He thinks he sees Pepper there with Gene but when he moves closer they no longer look like the two. They seem older and the girl is wearing am outfit that the Pepper he knew would never wear. She's wearing black jeans and a tight pink top that's black on the sides. The guy seems taller than Gene. He is wearing clothes that look close to what Gene usually wore. Tony can see how he thought they were Pepper and Gene. But his 100% sure that Gene would never hold Pepper that way and that Pepper would never kiss Gene. Tony sighed in frustration as he saw a green tiger stuff animal locked between the two bodies.

How could he even let himself think that Pepper had feelings for Gene or that Gene cared about any of them? It was crazy. They had to have been just friends and Gene must have been using her. She would always be his cheerleader no matter what. She would always be by his side. Nothing could shake him from that belief not even the fact that Gene and Pepper were clearly in fact kissing in front of him as he walked to get back to his lab.

_Note: This was in a way a tie in to Moment at the end... this isn't really a Gene/Pepper story nor is it really a Pepper/Tony story...idk who should it be under Tony or Gene? and this was written in less than an hour...I'm trying to make writing harder to see if I write better under pursuer_


	2. Chapter 2

Note: I own nothing and want more Pepper/Gene. I can't find Iron Man eps on youtube so I can't re-watch and work on my Gene...but until I feel I have a good Gene you can have this... Just so you know the song in the fic is Thinking Of You by Katy Perry... Hope you all enjoy it! Thanks for the great reviews.

_Tony likes to think that Pepper will always be by his side and cheering him on. He kind of likes her as his personal cheerleader. He would die before telling her that. He kind likes how much she seems to care about him and how much she is willing to give up to help him. So, when one day she says green is her favorite color he wonders if that means he likes him less. He asks why she doesn't like red anymore and she just smiles. He feels better when she says, "it's not that I don't like red. It's just that now I like green better." He doesn't know why that answer makes him happy and yet slightly upset._

Every night Pepper would listen to one song about love that could never be. The one she seemed to playmost often was by Katy Perry. She would end up crying as soon as the song started playing and would often sing along with it. How would she get better without him in her life? She couldn't stop thinking about the one person who had her heart and who she couldn't be with. She had done what he had asked her. She had tried to move on.

She was 25 and getting married to a great man. A man everyone wanted to be with. Everyone but her. She couldn't bring herself to love the person she was with. Her mind would often go to another man, a man she wanted to be with. Her thoughts were broken as her husband to be spoke to her. She was no longer in the land of her memories but back in the bedroom she shared with future husband. She sat up on the bed.

"Pepper are you okay?" Pepper looked up at Tony. He was a wonderful person. A hero, a good friend and lover and yet not at all who she wanted to spend her days with. Not the person she wanted to give children to. Her eyes glazed over in tears. She gave a small nod of her head.

"Yes, Tony I'm fine." He smiled down at her, not even noticing that in fact she's hurting inside, before he kissed her. She just sat through tasting another mans lip. Letting her mind think about someone else. She can't help but retend that the man in front of her is the one she really wants. But it never works because she didn't want him. She didn't want Tony. She had at one point but not anymore. Not since...

Tony smiled at his wife to be. She was everything he wanted in life. Pepper tried smiling back but couldn't and Tony thought it was because of the song. He pulled her closer to him as he too sat on the bed. Her head resting on his chest. She cried a little.

"Why do you listen to this song when it makes you so sad?" He asked her. She just looks up into his eyes and wishes they were someone else eyes. She didn't like looking into his eyes. It made it, everything seem more real.

"This is how I'd feel if I lost my great love." She stated hoping he would think she was talking about him. How could she tell Tony that he was her second best. That she had already lost her Indian Summer, her hard candy, that she already had the best. She could never tell Tony that he disgusted her. Pepper placed her head back onto Tony's chest as she thought about Gene. How she would love for him to just come and take her away right now and keep her forever.

"Oh, no more mistake cause in your eyes I'd like," Pepper sung as she closed her eyes and thought about Gene and the way he looked at her. "to stay, stay..."


	3. Chapter 3

Note: I don't own this show. Gene seem so cute in show and so kissable and dreamy...sigh... anyway another Gene/Pepper fic for cuz there's so few and request for someone to write them too. I look up stories of them and can't find any...won't cry...won't cry...

_Tony goes to the carnival to relax when Rhodey forces out of his lab. He thinks he sees Pepper there with Gene but when he moves closer they no longer look like the two. They seem older and the girl is wearing am outfit that the Pepper he knew would never wear. She's wearing black jeans and a tight pink top that's black on the sides. The guy seems taller than Gene. He is wearing clothes that look close to what Gene usually wore. Tony can see how he thought they were Pepper and Gene. But his 100% sure that Gene would never hold Pepper that way and that Pepper would never kiss Gene. Tony sighed in frustration as he saw a green tiger stuff animal locked between the two bodies._

Gene seats down in a chair. He's tired and has done something stupid. It's not like him to do something without thinking. But Pepper brings those kinds of actions out of him. She lets out a laugh as she comes into the room in the outfit she just changed into. She wraps her arms around his neck to look into his eyes. Oh, how she missed the way he looked at her? Pepper smiles with another little laugh as she kisses him whole heartly.

Pepper is 25 years old and today was ment to be her wedding day. She was going to marry a wealth man who all the girls wanted to have. He was a great man, a good friend and lover. He was a hero but no the man she wanted. No, the man she wanted come to her wedding in green armor and _kidnapped_ her before she had to say I do. She knew Tony most be out of her mind with worry but she had Gene. That's all that matters.

They pulled apart for air and Gene looked up at Pepper's beautiful face. "How do you like the clothes? I know it's not your normal clothes but I thought you may enjoy them." She smiles at the man who has her heart.

"They're fine Gene." She say as he looks over her black jeans and her tight pink top that was black on the sides. She looked so lovely in her wedding dress. He almost wished she was back in that dress. He wonders if maybe there will every be a day when she'll were a white dress for him. He sighs.

"And your room? Is it to your liking?" She laughs at his questioning. He has never been that open about his feelings. It's one of the reason she never thought he'd crash her wedding to steal her away.

"Yes, my room is fine." She says with a smile and than her face turns to a more thoughtful one. "Though there's one thing that I need to ask." He gazed at her wondering what she'll ask. Will it be why he crashed her wedding? Why he waited so long to take her or why he bothered at all?

"Your rings can do anything like go back in time?" She asked in a hopeful tone. He's trying to think of were she's headed with this question.

"You know I'm not fully sure. I've never tried to do that before." He said in thought. He has been wondering that for a while but a part of him was scared of losing Pepper.

"So, you could, maybe, be able to travel back in time to win a game at a carnival and get me a new green tiger?" She said trying to sound cute and sweet.

"Pepper!" Gene half yelled. "Are you asking me? Who had almost unlimited power to travel back in time for a stuff animal that has to real value?" He had to say it out loud. It didn't make sense in his head. It didn't make sense when he spoke it.

"Maybe, possible, sort of...okay yes! Yes I am!" Pepper said in one breath. "and it does have value. Don't you remember that's when we meet up again and you won it for me and I said your worth it. That tiger may not have meant anything to you but it was my whole world when you where gone. I need it for when you're not there. It reminds me of the good times we have together and how much you care for me. I feel like nothing with out. I mean can't you understand what that tiger mean to me." Gene was shocked that he was able to get all that. He clearly spent too much time with her.

"Pepper!" He said to make her stop talking. "Pepper, I get what you mean." He said softly. "I believe I can at least try to see if I can do what you want." Pepper smiles like a child when he says this. "It wouldn't hurt to know if I could travel through time. It would be a helpful skill to have." Pepper nods her head up and down bitting her lip in prue joy.

Gene really didn't think he would be able to travel to the past. He's shocked when they're back at the carnival while Pepper acted like she knew all along that he could do it. Gene isn't sure what day of the week it was or the time. He knews its night but other than that he's clueless. He's slightly worried about meeting anyone from their past...even themselves.

Pepper's just laughing a pulling him to the same game that he won her tiger the first time. And just like last time he won the game on his first try. She's laughing and smiling when she looks around them to really take in this place where she and Gene had finaly started there somewhat odd relationship. She thought about giving Gene children. He would need heirs soon and she loved the thought of him being with her and holding their child. As she looked about the place again she saw a red headed girl who looked lost in thought. She looked like she was missing half of who she was and Pepper knew that the young girl _was_ missing her other half. Pepper was looking at her past self walking up the path towards tham.

Pepper smiles back at Gene as she pulled him away from the game after he got her green tiger. She pulled away to the place where they had their first kiss. Gene gazed down at her as he hands her the tiger.

"Happy? You have your stuffed toy." He tried to sound upset about wasting his time on gaining a toy when he could've been planning to take over the world or kill Stark. She knews him too well for that to work.

"Yes, very." She stated as she moved closer to him. His eyes soften as he wraps his arms around her. He won't let go of his mask just yet and Pepper is fine with that. She loved trying to get him to remove it just for her. She kisses him ligthly on the lips three times before he slowly starts to kiss her back. In the coner of Pepper's eye she could swear she saw Tony. At the 25 year old Tony that she has almost married. No, the teenaged Tony that had just found out Gene was using them and who has dealing with that pain. She kissed Gene harder and with more passion. The green tiger locked between their bodies. She never wanted to leave Gene but she wasn't sure if she could be by his side forever. She prayed that she would never have to go back to Tony. This was where she belonged.


	4. Chapter 4

Note: I changed the tittle. This one fit better and was thanks to a totally great writing. So, the last chap had time travel and had to do with the ending of the first chap. That's right when Tony was at the carnival he saw future Gene and Pepper. Aw poor Tony. You can get the girl but that doesn't mean you can get her heart... I don't own a thing. I'm trying a chap for every paragraph from chap 1.

_Tony calls Gene a snake once when he's really made. Pepper tells him that she doesn't think of Gene as a snake but some other animal. When he asks what she thinks Gene is she just touches her necklace under her shirt and turns her head. Tony doesn't notice the way she touched her necklace. He just thinks she's in thought thinking of something better._

Pepper looked bored as she sat drinking her ice tea. She looked at the clock. He was late and they had a project to do. She sighed. She couldn't even acted surprised by this. After all, last time he almost didn't help her at all. She looked down and thought about the guy she was growing to know. He was so different then what she thought he would be.

At first when she saw him, she had thought him cold and sercetive. He reminded her of a snake almost. Than later he seemed like a dragon wise and hiding great power...but now she him as something else...she looked into his eyes and she saw the real him. He was strong but broken. He was smart but clueless. He was young but old. He was something more and yet nothing else. Pepper sighed. He was Gene.

She smiled as she looked at the pictures of different animals. She wondered which one was like Gene. Which one had his same fire and deepth and yet was cool and what it seemed? As her eyes looked at the different creatures her eyes stopped at the picture of a Tiger. There was something about the creatures eyes that screamed Gene. This Asian beast was so much like Gene.

Tigers were strong beast that had lost so much of their power. Like an arrow they stayed true to their path until the end. So sure of themselves and more. She looked into the eyes of this amazing creature and saw it looking back slightly lost. This young animal looking far to old and lonely for her liking. This being was so clever and yet clueless on how to save its self.

This animal called to her and made her heart ache in longing to reach out to him and make it all better. She slowly fingered the photo in front of her as her eyes glazed over. Tigers were different from other cats just like Gene was different from other people. They would swim were others would not dare. She was falling in love with the beast in front of her and she didn't mind it one bit. There was something magical about him. She sighed again as she look at the time.

Gene still hadn't come and she was growing sick of waiting. Her smile turned into a frown. She hoped he come cuz she wasn't in the mood to do all the work alone. Maybe she should just go home after all the project wasn't due for a few more days. She placed money on the table and left the small diner.


	5. Chapter 5

Note: I don't own this show. I can see Gene and Pepper having such beautiful kids and Tony being like how the hell did this happen? But whatever where's the story at hand.

_Tony notices that Pepper always wears that necklace even when it's not in view. Even after Gene betrays them. She mostly keeps it under her shirt after that. He notices that she fingers it during class when she's bored or when she's quiet. She often has this look on her face that Tony has never seen her give him. It's a look of pure peace. He wonders what she is thinking about and why she loves tigers so much._

It's been years since Gene had betrayed them. During that time, Tony and he had many battles. Tony wasn't sure he'd make it out alive in some of those fights. He wondered how Pepper would live with out him if that monster Gene killed him. Pepper for her part would just sit by his side whenever Tony was badly hurt. She wouldn't say anything. She would just watch Tony and listen to him when he spoke about Gene with such hate.

He's glad to have her when he's bedridden and wounded from his many battles. There's something about the peaceful look on her face that he loves. He doesn't know why she looks like that or what she's thinking but her being there brings him this restful feeling inside. He doesn't think she'll ever leave him. She's his whole reason for living sometimes and he truly believes that his her reason for living too.

There's one day that he's stuck in bed and Pepper fast asleep that he sees she still wears that monsters necklace. His sickened by it. He wished he could rip that thing off her neck. So that's what she fingered all the time? She took more comfort in that object than anything he had ever given her and it upset him greatly.

He stared at her as if he was looking at someone he didn't know. His Pepper would never own anything from the enemy. As if she knew he was watching her, she slowly woke up and looked into his eyes. "Tony..." She whispered softly as she looked at him.

"Why?" he was surprised by how soft his tone was when he was so hurt and anger. How could she keep that _thing_? She did understand what he was talking about. Her hand slowly reached up and grabbed what was around her neck. It was than that she noticed it was out in the open and that Tony saw it.

"Tony...I..." She didn't know what to say to him. "It's not what you think..." She was so scared of what he'd do. She wasn't sure what he thought but she knew it wasn't good. "Tony!"

"Get out! Get out!" He was having problems breathing from the mix of anger and pain. He couldn't stand to see her face right now. It hurt too much. That necklance kept her grounded in times of pain. To Tony that meant that Gene kept her grounded in times of pain and not him. He wondered if thoughts of Gene made her feel at peace and with that thought a piece of his soul broke inside.

Note: I would've updated sooner but I was lazy, my computer broke and than I couldn't think of how to end this right. I'm still slightly unhappy with it but I'll live


	6. Chapter 6

Note: I don't own this show. I'vw started classes so may not upsate for awhile or I may got bored and not write this anymore...OH,Well story time... P.S. Sorry if it's not any good. I'm writing to relax from school work so I don't have it in me to really work on this more.

_Tony knows for a fact that Pepper's favorite animal is a monkey. He buys her a monkey stuffed animal for her birthday and he thinks that she'll love it. When she opens it, her face falls a little and her mouth shapes into an 'O'. She smiles kindly and says thank you but Tony can tell that she hates it. Than Gene hands her a gift a few hours later, he rubs the back of his back and says that he got it at the last second. He tells her that he almost forgot her birthday. Pepper opens the small box with a slightly hurt face. She doesn't like the fact that he almost forgot her birthday. Tony watches as her eyes grew wide. She's so happy that she can't speak. Gene picks up the item in the box. It's a necklace with a tiger on it. The tiger had jade stones for eyes and Tony can tell just by the cost of the necklace that this gift wasn't a last second thought. Gene smiles at her as he asks if she likes it and tells her that he thought she'd like to have something with her favorite animal on it._

Gene sighs to himself as he think about Pepper's up coming birthday. He should get her a gift right... He thinks about how she'll act if he doesn't get her a gift. He wonders which is more likely to happen her calling him to the point where he losses his mind or her being so sad she losses her bright smile and that hopeful shine in her eyes... maybe she'll ignore him. That wouldn't be too up he thought to himself. For once he can have time to think and breath... yeah maybe he shouldn't get her a gift...

It isn't even a day later that he changes his mind. He's sitting at this little diner with Pepper and their working on their project together. After two months of working on it, they are just about done with it. He notices how much she loves the tiger picture in the book. In fact whenever he's running late, he always seems to find her looking at tiger pictures. He recalls that once when he was in her room that she had a few posters with tigers and a stuff animal of one two. He also recalls the monkeys thrown in the closet. There were a lot of them.

"Do you like them?" found himself asking when he didn't even mean to. Pepper popped her head up with a blush. She's trying to find the right worlds and Gene lets out a small laugh. "Is that a yes?"

"Yes, their my favorite." She said nodding her head. She started naming facts about the creatures and going on and on about the lives that she likes most and the ones that she thinks are dying out. What really got Gene wasn't how much she could talk or how much she knew...no what really got Gene to the core was how much he enjoyed hearing her talk. He knew that he just had to get her a gift. He couldn't risk the chance that she would stop speaking to him. He frowned as he thought about that.

It's a week later that he throws himself on his bed with a sigh and declares that he gives up. Sure there were many things he could've given Pepper but this was Gene and he never did anything without thinking it through and careful planning. He's pretty sure that he'll never find Pepper a gift in time and than he riased his head a saw a statue of a tiger standing strong in red. He looked at it in thought. Pepper loved tigers...maybe something with a tiger would be a good gift but he has to make sure she still liked them. Pepper had a habit of changing her mind a lot.

It is almost two weeks later and to Gene's shock Pepper still loves tigers very much. He watched as they slowly made there way into her locker replacing pictures of boys and spy gear. He is sure at this point that if he gives her the tiger necklace, she would love it. Right after classes one day, he went straight to a jewler for her. It would cost him a bit more than he planned to spend on her but somewhere deep in his mind he thought she was worth it.

It's finally Pepper's birthday and Gene isn't sure if he should give Pepper a gift. He wonders if she'll take it to mean something that it's not. After all, he's just using her right! That was the plan when he befriended her... but it didn't feel like a fake friendship anymore. Gene throws the necklace onto a desk as he thinks on what to do and if that necklace will mean more than just a gift. It's only a few hours later when he makes up his mind to give it to her. He thinks to himself that he's being silly, that it's just a gift and nothing more.

Yet, he still feels unsure standing outside Pepper's house. He's about to turn back when he hears her voice. "Gene?"

"Hi, Pepper." Gene says as he looks up at her. He can't help feel a little uneasy with Tony there beside her, but the feeling soon passes after Pepper rushes to by next to Gene. She looks so happy and her eyes seem to sparkly. "I just came by to drop off your gift." He says with a small smile but when he looks up at Tony for a second he thinks her should add more. "I hope you don't mind the late gift. I forgot that today was your birthday. I was just lucky I could find a something for you at such a late time." Pepper tries her best to cover up her hurt feelings but Gene knew that they would hurt her. He's just surpised at how much those words hurt him to say. He doesn't want anyone to think that he cares for Pepper... even if she is growing on him.

Gene smriks as Pepper opens the box. He can tell right away that she loves it. She's so happy she can't speak a word. Gene smiles when he claps the necklaces around her neck thinking that Tony could never get Pepper to act like this. This necklace marked that Gene knew Pepper better. When she turned around and asked how she looked, Gene forgot all about Tony standing a few feet away in the cold. Gene could only think about how beautiful she looked and how _he_ made her feel this way. He hopes he gets to see Pepper smile like this again...to smile at him like this again and no one else but him.


	7. Chapter 7

Note: I don't own this show. And here's a bit more Tony and his one sided love of Pepper. lol I'm kinda mean to him just a bit

_How could he even let himself think that Pepper had feelings for Gene or that Gene cared about any of them? It was crazy. They had to have been just friends and Gene must have been using her. She would always be his cheerleader no matter what. She would always be by his side. Nothing could shake him from that belief not even the fact that Gene and Pepper were clearly in fact kissing in front of him as he walked to get back to his lab._

It was three months after his failed wedding..._their failed wedding._Pepper was still missing. What could Gene be doing to her? Tony thought day after day. Some times he wondered if she was even still alive but he would always push that thought away as soon as it entered his mind. NO, he couldn't think like that. She had to be alive... she was his soul mate...his true love...his sweetheart... she couldn't die before him. Tony never planned to ever lose Pepper and he was going to keep that plan if it killed him. She would be back _alive_ beside him cheering him on.

By the fourth month since her kidnapping, Tony was crying and screaming not everyone. He lost his mind after he finally reached a point where all reason pointed to her being dead. He wasn't eating and he wasn't sleeping. He wasn't creating. He was just there. He was just this angry, crying being and he was just there. Even the lose of his father, never made him feel this down. He had grown up thinking, believing, feeling as if she'd always be there no matter what. She was Pepper. She lived through ever adventure they had together. She wasn't meant to die young and away in some hole in the wall. She was Pepper and Tony wasn't Tony without her.

By the end of that long month, Tony got a letter _from_Pepper. He knew that it could've been a trick but the hand writing looked the same and it sounded like her. He had hope again that she was alive waiting for him to save her even thou her letter never said any of this.

It was during her sixth month missing that Tony saw what he thought to be Pepper. He had broken into Gene's base to find out where he was hiding her. Tony hoped that was all he was doing to Pepper. God, just the thought of his beloved Pepper made his heart hurt. He missed her so much and he just wanted to hold her in his arms and never let her go. He was broken from he's thoughts when he heard a laugh. Not just any laugh... it was Pepper's laugh. He could picture the smile that must have gone with that laugh and was confused. Why would Pepper be laughing?

He isn't too sure how he found the source of the sound but he did. The door was opened enough for him to look it. This didn't feel real. None of this felt real. The room looked beautiful. It was fit for a Queen. The room shined in an unnatural light that seemed to be coming from the concer and there was Pepper. She was sitting in the middle of the bed dressed in a rich red robe that match the gold of the sheets. She reached her hands outward asking for someone to join her on the bed. Tony was about to go into the bed when a pair of hands reached for Peppers. He couldn't see the mans face only the back of his head but he knew it was Gene. Pepper pulled Gene down to her and kissed him hard on the lips.

If she did more, Tony couldn't say. He turned away at that heart hurting him more than any attack he had ever had. Pepper was _his_. How could she do that? With that monster? Tony couldn't bring himself to understand what had happened. So, he didn't think about. It was nothing more than a dream he told himself. He would wake up the next morning and he'd see it was nothing more than a dream. No one knew he had gone to find Pepper. No one noticed he was missing. He would go to sleep tonight and wake up the next morning in his lab and think it was all just a dream, a bad nightmare even when it really wasn't just a dream.


	8. Chapter 8

Note: I don't own this show. I've had soo much fun writing this and to think I'm almost done with it. Sigh.

_Tony calls Gene a snake once when he's really made. Pepper tells him that she doesn't think of Gene as a snake but some other animal. When he asks what she thinks Gene is she just touches her necklace under her shirt and turns her head. Tony doesn't notice the way she touched her necklace. He just thinks she's in thought thinking of something better._

"I can't believe that monster." Tony screamed at the top of his lungs. He couldn't understand how someone could put so many lives in danger over something as stupid as power. Pepper watched as Tony destroyed a whole room in a fit of rage over his last battle with Gene. She couldn't help but think about how many lives were put in danger because Tony wanted to play hero. Gene had only went to steal medicine to help a small village. Sure, the head of the village dealt with weapon trade but Gene didn't know that.

Pepper had been the one that tried to get Tony to listen about the villages problem. Gene had been the one to listen. She knew for a fact that Gene didn't know anything about weapons. She had hide that fact from him. She had been scared that if Gene knew, he wouldn't have wanted to help those poor children for the same reason that Tony didn't want to help them. A small tear fell down her face as she touched the chain around her neck. Gene wasn't a monster. He had only been trying to help others because she had asked him to. He was more like an angel who in confusion did the wrong thing. Tony should be blaming her not Gene. An angel should not be blamed because God misinformed him. If one thing good came from this, it was that at least Gene got what he was after.


	9. Chapter 9

Note: I don't own this show and this is my last chapter for this fic. If anyone wants to write anything based on this just email me. Anyway, here's the end.

_Tony likes to know whats going on around him. He doesn't like surprises and he is filled with a need to always have answers. This need has all been a blessing and a curse. He likes to think that he knows just about everything about his friends. That he can almost guess what they are going to say and when they are going to say it. So, when Pepper comes to school one day talking to Gene like their best friends he is a little taken back at how close they seem. He isn't shocked that their friends but he is shocked at how fast their friendship grew._

Tony was shocked to say the least. Pepper was standing in front of him with a weapon pointed at his head. This didn't make sense. Pepper was his friend, his lover, his everything. He thought about King Arthur. Was this how he felt when he found out his queen had betrayed him? How could this of happened? WHEN could this have started? Was it when Gene kidnapped her? Did that mean she was brainwashed? Or had their love affair been going on well before that? As much as it pained him, he was sure it was the latter.

It all added up now. The way she had that far off look when she was alone or listening to love songs. The sometimes when she pushed away from and wouldn't meet his gaze. The way she had seemed slightly unhappy during the planning of their wedding. The way she smiled when she touched that _necklace_. Even the fact that she kept it after all these years. It all clicked in his head. She was in love with Gene and had been for years. Maybe ever since high school. This angered Tony in ways that could break even the coldest heart.

How could he have been so wrong about someone so close to him? Pepper wasn't the type to hold a gun in his face. She was to kind and sweet to do so. But she was... She was so that Gene could get away. There were tears in her eyes but not for Tony and not out of pain. They were tears of joy that streamed down face as she thought about how at least she was free. Pepper slammed Tony over the head taking him out cold and gave him a good kick in the gut because now she could.

To her this day was a long time coming and to Tony this was a nightmare he would've never been able to dream up.


End file.
